Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a sense of pride that I rise this evening and confirm that, as a result of eight local community water projects, approximately 9,250,000 litres of water will be saved each year from now on in the electorate of Bonner. The Community Water Grants program has delivered thousands of dollars in funding to each of these eight local projects and I wish to acknowledge the local community groups and schools that have demonstrated their enthusiasm and commitment to saving our precious water resource. The proposals that will now be implemented are practical and community orientated and, most importantly, they will prove that a real measurable difference can be made when we, as a community, are conscious of every drop of water used.

Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, Clairvaux Mackillop College, First Contact Aboriginal Corporation for Youth, Manly West State School, Marshall Road State School, Manly Lota Scout Group, Villanova College and Wynnum West State School all designed outstanding projects that will not only improve water efficiency but also enlist local community participation and communicate the benefits of wise water use. In particular, I would like to make special mention today of two community water grant recipients: Marshall Road State School and First Contact Aboriginal Corporation for Youth. The Marshall Road State School rainwater irrigation project will receive $42,945 to replace the school’s current irrigation system with a more efficient underground automatic system that will save water by allowing night watering and thereby reducing evaporation loss.

In addition, the school will also save water by linking the irrigation system to a rainwater tank ensuring that 1,370,000 litres of water are saved each year. The project has been led by the school’s deputy principal, Mr Geoff Howatson, who deserves congratulations for the way in which he has involved the students, their families and the teachers in understanding just how important our water resource is. The way in which the school has embraced the Community Water Grants program is admirable and, as always, the school has led the local community by example. Students are enthusiastic about doing all that they can to preserve our vital resources, and the environmental awareness that Mr Howatson has fostered amongst students and their families is outstanding.

On World Water Day I had the great pleasure of experiencing first-hand the positive effect that community water grants have also had on community groups. First Contact Aboriginal Corporation for Youth is an organisation from the south side of the Bonner electorate, and on Wednesday, 22 March, business, government and community representatives from throughout south-east Brisbane gathered on Mount Gravatt Mountain to acknowledge the funding of $48,445 that has been awarded to First Contact for the Echidna Magic Kiosk and Cafe project. Mount Gravatt Mountain is of special significance to both the local Indigenous community and the wider southside community.

First Contact works tirelessly for the Aboriginal youth in and around the area and for too long the organisation’s plans to establish an environmentally friendly community kiosk and cafe facility on the mountain have had to remain untouched due to the lack of funding and resources. The Community Water Grants program, however, offered the perfect opportunity for First Contact to incorporate an effective water-wise management program within the Mount Gravatt project. Organisation chairperson, Mr Robbie Williams, recognised the opportunity and he deserves congratulations for subsequently securing a community water grant of nearly $50,000 to implement the first stage of the project. A water efficient kiosk and cafe will be established and a tank installed to collect rainwater to irrigate a native plant revegetation. It is expected that through the project 1,400,000 litres of water will be saved each year. Just as importantly, the grant has rejuvenated the First Contact Corporation and its members and the community will be working together to ensure that an environmentally friendly and water wise facility is provided for the community by the community. (Time expired)